Mercedes-Benz GLC production delay Alabama plant, Digi Mart USA News (Alabama, United States): Mercedes-Benz will postpone the start of production of its compact GLC crossover at its Alabama assembly plant by two and a half years beyond the original plan, according to the specialist site AutoNews.
People involved in the decision said the company chose to align the program’s start with the vehicle’s generational change, which is scheduled for May 2030.
As previously reported on Horsepower Mexico, the German premium automaker had planned to begin producing the GLC in the United States by the end of next year. The GLC is its best-selling imported model in the neighboring country, where it currently faces a 15% tariff.
The automaker had previously said it would allocate $4 billion to move the operation from Germany to the United States, while suppliers would invest another $3 billion to support the program.
However, the scale of the operation makes an early start financially unviable if a new investment is required by 2030 for the crossover’s redesign.
“Investing in the plant for about half the product’s lifecycle and then having to adapt it for the next generation of the GLC does not make much sense from a financial standpoint,” Sam Fiorani, vice president of AutoForecast Solutions, told AutoNews.
